Posted on 07/03/2012 7:43:58 AM PDT by knarf
It's my understanding that the whole oil refining operation is,
Now, I know it can't be THAT simplistic, but, at least I think it is on that line of reasoning.
So;
I know storing gasoline for a future time would require a relatively simple, but at greater labor and cost.
Because I use #2 heating oil (basically diesel), is there some way this product can be acceptably home refined to fire up an infernal combustion engine?
Please ping any oil people for some insight on this, thanx.
I meant an infernal frustration engine.
You can burn Home Heating oil in a Diesel Vehicle (was that your question?)
You're gonna need a bigger boat.
There is no simple way to make gasoline from #2 fuel oil at home and shortcuts will lead to amazing house fires. Get a diesel powered car/truck
People who do that usually have chemical engineering degrees and very expensive equipment.
Yeah, I agree, but I don’t have one .. and because I drive a lot (thus think a lot, when not listening to Wilkow .. etc.), I wondered about might be involved.
Refining involves heat AND a catalyst to divide up the materials.
Diesel is already refined so, there is no “gasoline” left in it.
Home refining should be left to the professionals (meth-heads!).
You can add a stabilizer to gasoline that will let you keep it for up to a year or so. After that, GFL
Usually, what I do is take gasoline, put it in a frying pan, and bring it to a rolling boil over an open flame. With one hand, open a mason jar and with the other, strike a lighter to chase the fumes into the jar. Then seal the jar and leave in sunlight.
Are you looking for emergency mobility in times of crisis ?
(I’m guessing you’re assuming they’ll deliver home heating oil even if they can’t supply vehicle diesel and gas - that of course will be a political issue)
I’d suggest picking up an “older” diesel vehicle - one without the sophisticated super high pressure injection used in the last 10 years - the new ones require really clean fuel. The old Mercedes and some Dodge and Ford trucks could run on home heating oil.
However, you can burn the no. 2 oil straight up in a diesel engine. You can also burn kerosene straight up in a diesel, and if you pre-heat it to drive up the vapor pressure (wrap a few coils of copper fuel line around the exhaust manifold) you can burn kerosene in a low-compression gasoline engine. If you choose this latter option, count on re-jetting your carb (don't try this with a fuel-injected engine unless you can also reprogram the E-prom for kerosene). Also count on hard starting, reduced power, and ugly emissions. If I were going to try to run a car on kero, I would build it as a dual-fuel system that could start and run on gas until it was warmed up, then switch to kerosene.
Also, in refineries there is a process called "Cat Cracking." (Catalytic breaking of long string molecules into shorter ones.) It allows them to chose whether to produce more diesel, or more gasoline, or more of whatever. They can tweak the process and convert more of the oil into whatever they want the most.
If you are looking to develop an energy source post financial collapse, I would advise you to look at natural gas. You don't have to refine it, you can use it straight off the well head. (or pipe) It would be best if you can remove the water from it, but it will work even if you don't. There are kits available on E-Bay to convert a gasoline powered engine to run on both gasoline AND natural gas. (Either/Or)
The only down side to it is that you have compress it into pressure vessels to hold your fuel, and those vessels have to be able to handle pressures in the 4,000 PSI range, such as an oxygen bottle from an Oxy-Acetyelene welding rig. But don't put natural gas into an Oxygen bottle unless steps have been taken to get rid of the Oxygen in it! Even then, don't do it while our current government is still functional!
I am in the process of setting up a natural gas filling station, and I have already bought a duel fuel car, and a kit to convert another one. Gasoline and oil often have to be trucked to places, but natural gas can arrive by pipeline as quickly as you can pump it. In an economic collapse, I expect the gas and oil shipments to stop before the natural gas quits coming out of the pipe.
The temperatures and pressures, plus catalysts and lots of sulfuric acid makes cracking oil to gas a factory operation. Good idea, though!
But it's Independence Day and I'm off work for a couple of days .... I'll give it a try ...
Thanx Laz, I know you wouldn't steer a guy wrong.
I DO have a Chemical Engineering degree, and you can’t do this at home. The biggest problem (as noted above) is that the lighter gasoline is already gone. That means you’d have to further crack the oil. Not a simple process.
The other part of the process that you’ve described is fractional distillation. This part maybe could be done at home (ask moonshiners), but not on your heating oil.
Diesel stores much better than gasoline, if kept at a relatively low, stable, temperature and periodically “stirred.”
There are also home bio-fuel set ups that make a reasonable amount of diesel out of farm waste. They are not quite econmic (although close), but would be very economic if the wheels feel off society.
Buying a diesel vehicle would be the easiest solution. Running vegetable oil is illegal in some places with quite large fines. There is no free lunch when the government is involved.
Making bio-diesel is rather easy (and far safer). Gasoline, however, is much more precise (and dangerous).
Find yourself an old diesel Mercedes or VW (avoid the diesel Oldsmobile as they were horrible).
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
sorry, misread your post.
Get a car/generator with a diesel engine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.